Malaysia's Chinese Architecture

Every major town in Malaysia has a Chinatown
The amount of interesting architecture is overwhelming. And the buildings are not just  museum pieces or a tourist mock-up.

These are real, working, living, breathing stores and restaurants.

The Peranekan buildings in Melaka are particularly interesting.
Peranekans are the ethnic group that resulted from the inter-marriage of Chinese men and Malaysian women. Their homes are a mix of Chinese, Malay, and European influences.

Melaka Shop houses

The interiors of these homes are beautiful. A number of the buildings in Melaka have been converted to museums, galleries, hotels, and restaurants.
We spent the better part of a day wandering through these 100 year old wonders.

Shop house Interior

As it was the Chinese New Year, we saw a lot of praying at the various local temples. While walking through the temples, we saw these giant joss sticks. I had never seen joss sticks this big before, nor had I seen any with dragons on them.

Dragon-style Joss Sticks